It’s National Maple Syrup Day (Dec. 17)!
While the Nature Center won’t be open to the public today (we’re closed to the public on Mondays in the winter), we wanted to celebrate by doing an even deeper discount on our Maple Syrup. For two days only — Tuesday, Dec. 18 and Wednesday Dec. 19 — gallons of maple syrup will be 25% off in the Creekside Shop (for members and non-members alike). Other maple syrup items are 10% off.
FUN FACTS ABOUT MAPLE SYRUP
- It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.
- One gallon of pure maple syrup weighs about 11 pounds.
- Maple trees grow in many areas of North America, but maple syrup can only be made where the weather is just right.
- Maple sap flows best on warm, sunny days after a freezing night and can run at up to 150 drops per minute!
- Maple sap is mostly water, with just a little bit of sugar (on average 98% water, 2% sugar).
- Pure maple syrup has no fat or proteins and is a good source of 3 essential elements — calcium, iron and thiamine.
- The maple season lasts about 4-6 weeks, but sap flow is heaviest for 10 to 20 days.
- We tap over 200 trees at the Nature Center every year and serve more than 30 gallons of syrup in two days at the Maple Syrup Festival!
- In 2018, 292 children and 316 adults came out on weekends to learn about maple syruping at the Nature Center.
- Every available time slot to attend a maple syruping field trip was booked by area schools last year. Students learned how Native Americans and early pioneers made syrup and toured our Sugar House to see how it’s made today!
- Properly stored maple syrup can last for several years. (Unopened can be kept at room temperature, but once opened should be refrigerated and will last between three to six months.)
EASY WAYS TO USE MAPLE SYRUP (that don’t involve pancakes)
EASY WAYS TO USE MAPLE SYRUP (that don’t involve pancakes)- Use it in place of sugar (for baking, replace 1 cup sugar with ¾ cup maple syrup and reduce other liquids by 3 tablespoons for every cup of syrup).
- Drizzle over vegetables or meat before roasting for a yummy caramelization effect.
- Beat syrup into butter for maple butter — put on anything. Delicious.
- Stir into coffee or tea instead of sugar or artificial sweeteners — tastes better and is a little bit healthier, too!
- Put it in a cocktail — nothing better than a maple old fashioned.
- Put it on ice cream for the sweetest of treats.
- Mash it into sweet potatoes or squash.
- Make homemade granola! It’s so easy and affordable to make your own.
RECIPES
- Breakfast: Homemade Crunchy Maple Quinoa Cereal
- Lunch: Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Honey-Maple Vinaigrette
- Snack: Maple Spiced Candied Nuts
- Dinner: Maple Chili Pork Tenderloin
- For the kiddos: Maple Waffle Chicken Nuggets
- Sweet treat: Churros with Maple Glaze